Daily Enviro Report - 3/24/03

[Timber Loftis]

DAILY ENVIRONMENT REPORT
Highlights & Table of Contents
March 24, 2003
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ISSN 1521-9402

[excerpts]

NEITHER DRILLING IN ARCTIC REFUGE NOR CAFE RULES EXPECTED IN
ENERGY BILL

Provisions to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge or to increase the fuel economy of U.S.-made vehicles
will not be included in a comprehensive energy bill being
offered by the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee. "It is not our current intention to
include ANWR in an energy bill," says the committee's staff
director, Alex Flint. He also says Sen. Domenici, chair of
the energy committee, and Rep. Tauzin, chair of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee, believe they will be
successful in completing a conference agreement on a bill
"in a relatively straight-forward manner" and passing it
this year. . . . Page A-5

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/is/a0a6p7p3p9

PENTAGON ORDERS SERVICE CHIEFS TO SEEK WAIVERS FROM
ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

The Pentagon is ordering its service chiefs to provide
examples to illustrate where President Bush or the secretary
of defense could use executive authority to grant national
security waivers from environmental laws. According to an
internal memorandum made public by an environmental
organization, Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz directs the
secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to abandon
their "past restraint" in pursuing national security
exemptions "in cases where environmental requirements
threaten our continued ability to properly train and equip
the men and women of the Armed Forces." . . . Page A-7,
Text E-11

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/is/a0a6p7k7w7

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/is/a0a6p7k9r9

UNITED NATIONS TO ASSESS MAJOR THREATS TO ENVIRONMENT IN
IRAQ

The United Nations Environment Program launches a study to
assess the major threats to the environment in Iraq. The
desk study, to be prepared by UNEP's Post Conflict
Assessment Unit, will include recommendations for avoiding,
minimizing, or mitigating risks to the environment and human
health. UNEP says the study also will identify and suggest
possible responses to environmental hazards arising directly
from the ongoing military conflict. . . . Page A-6

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/is/a0a6p7e3v8

LAWSUIT AGAINST UNION CARBIDE ON BHOPAL WATER CONTAMINATION
DISMISSED

Union Carbide Corp. cannot be held responsible for cleaning
up groundwater contamination near the site of its former
pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, more than eight years
after selling its ownership rights to the property,
according to the U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of New York. Acting on a remand from the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the district court
dismisses all remaining claims against the company and its
former chief executive, Warren Anderson, from a 1999 class
action filed on behalf of Indian citizens and organizations.
. . . Page A-2

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/is/a0a6p6p8g7

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PESTICIDES
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BALANCE PRO: Michigan declines to approve Balance Pro to
protect the state's 2.2 million acres of corn, primarily
because there is not enough time to put in place special
precautions for the 2003 growing season, says the deputy
director of the state Department of Agriculture. He says the
herbicide is considered a probable carcinogen. . . . Page
A-11

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/is/a0a6p5k8d7

CHILDREN'S HEALTH: EPA's Children's Health Protection
Advisory Committee calls on the agency to act to protect
farmworkers who may be exposed to pesticides, to develop a
national breast milk monitoring program, and to hire a
permanent director for its Office of Children's Health
Protection. . . . Page A-3

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/is/a0a6p7e2d0

FRANCE: The failure to control adequately the pesticide and
chemical fertilizer runoff from agriculture is found to be
the principal factor in declining water quality standards
seen across much of France in recent decades. . . . Page
A-8

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/is/a0a6p6e4q6

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[LordKathen]

I for one definetly appreciate your eye on these issues. Very iteresting stuff TL. [img]graemlins/awesomework.gif[/img]